Narcissus, Pheasant’s Eye

Narcissus is the name given to the family of plants which includes jonquils. Daffodil is a common name used for all Narcissi. Narcissus are members of the Amaryllis family and are native to various parts of the world including China and Japan, the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, North Africa and western Asia. The Latin name for the Daffodil, Narcissus, was believed to have been derived from the Greek myth about Narcissus. However, Pliny, the Roman naturalist, argues that the name, Narcissus, derives from the term narkao meaning to benumb and that it is a reference to the bulbs’ medicinal abilities to cause instant numbness.

It is believed that the Romans brought winter hardy Daffodil varieties to Britain in the early centuries AD. By the 17th century, Europeans had been cultivating daffodils for hundreds of years, and the first doubles were being developed.

The earliest European settlers to the New World brought daffodils. The town of Gloucester, VA reported large, naturalized areas of daffodils by 1651.

Along with tulips, daffodils are the most important spring bulbs in Europe and the United States. In many gardens, daffodils are the first flowers to emerge in the spring. Their joyous yellow flowers are eager to remind all of us that sunny days will soon return.

Poeticus Narcissus, AKA “The Pheasant’s Eye Narcissus”, is an extremely old variety which was described by Theophrastus in 320 BC. All of the ancient poeticus varieties have disappeared, perhaps because the heavy scent of the flowers was said to induce headache and vomiting, but some older varieties have survived. The tiny, often brilliantly colored cup is surrounded by gleaming white petals. Plant 6-8” deep and 6” apart.